Are Academics More Easily Replaceable by AI? What German Companies Think | t3n
One in five companies believes AI could replace academics. But how much trust is behind this – and where do they see the limits of technology?
A significant minority of German companies believes that artificial intelligence (AI) could partially replace academics, according to a survey conducted by the Ifo Institute. Nearly one-fifth (19.2 percent) of about 3,000 companies surveyed in May consider it easy or even very easy to employ AI-supported workers without the necessary qualifications instead of employees with vocational or university degrees. Additionally, 15 percent of companies also find it easy to very easy to replace experienced colleagues with inexperienced ones who are assisted by AI.
Absolute Majority Does Not Believe in Replacement by AI
"AI is changing the working world and can partially replace formal qualifications and experiences in some areas," said Ifo researcher Anna Ruffert. The survey was conducted exclusively among companies that already use AI. The highest proportion of companies that consider AI to be as suitable as qualified professionals in at least some areas is found in the retail sector, with 28.6 percent.
An absolute majority of companies still finds it difficult or even impossible to replace skilled workers with vocational or university degrees with AI-supported individuals of lower qualifications. However, this majority is not overwhelmingly large, at 55.4 percent. The Ifo Institute posed this question for the first time, according to the researcher, so there are no comparative values from the past.